Tag: Michael McCollum

Fun Military Pulp with Deadly Aliens

I got this as recommendation from a commentator. It is a classic pulp fiction. In this universe humanity has colonized the stars through wormholes. But then a massive star, Antares goes supernova and disrupts them, closes some and creates new connections.

The human colonist on Alta looses all contact with the rest of humanity that fateful day in 2512. Now more than a century later a huge warship appears out of the wormhole. It is has extensive battle-damage and the crew is dead. There is obviously a war going on and if one ship can come through the ones who did that to the ship could be next. This is a potential threat to the colony so they decide something has to be done.

The protagonists are Captain Lieutenant Richard Drake and Bethany Lindquist, the niece of the mostly ceremonial ambassador from Earth on Alta. There is a beautiful story of duty in how the Ambassador and his descendants keep the office running for a century without contact with the home office.

In many respects the story reminds me of stories by David Weber, Ian McDonald and John Ringo where aliens tries to exterminate the human race. There is a more human twist to it here though.

This first book in the Antares trilogy describes how the lost colony ventures out and learn something of what have happened outside their home system the last century. I will not spoil the details of the story but there are xenophobic aliens, mysterious ruins and a love story you will enjoy.

The colony’s political and social life is interesting and ties into the story. The traditional foolish politicians of military science fiction are there to a certain extent. I like the way the political life ties in to the lives of the protagonists and their social life.

Antares Dawn was a fun science fiction read I enjoyed a lot. It is fast paced and the twists and turns kept me interested. The characters are okay but not very deep but I found I was rooting for them anyway. This might not be for anyone but if you like pulp and military science fiction you will most certainly find this good.

Book information

When the supergiant star Antares exploded in 2512, the human colony on Alta found their pathway to the stars gone, isolating them from the rest of human space for more than a century. Then one day, a powerful warship materialized in the system without warning. Alarmed by the sudden appearance of such behemoth, the commanders of the Altan Space Navy dispatched one of their most powerful ships to investigate. What ASNS Discovery finds when they finally catch the intruder is a battered hulk manned by a dead crew.

That is disturbing news for the Altans. For the dead battleship could easily have defeated the whole of the Altan navy. If it could find Alta, then so could whoever it was that beat it. Something would have to be done.